German Soccer Player Scores Game-Winner One Year After Going Into Cardiac Arrest on the Field (Video)

On Saturday, after being subbed on in the 83rd minute, German soccer player Daniel Engelbrecht scored in the 92nd minute to give the Stuttgard Kickers’ a 2-1 victory over Wehen.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal. We don’t do too many posts about third tier German soccer matches. However, this story is special, because Engelbrecht’s goal came just 17 months after he suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest and collapsed.

That collapse came during the very first game of the 2013-14 season. Though he didn’t know it at the time, Engelbrecht had a condition that caused an inflammation of the heart muscle, which in turn caused an arrhythmia that led to cardiac arrest. (Which is not technically a “heart attack.”) Medical workers were able to revived Engelbrecht on the spot, but his condition would require not one but four operations to correct.

However, Engelbrecht returned to action last month wearing a defibrillator under his shirt that monitored the rhythm of his heart. And on Saturday he gave the whole saga a storybook ending with his game-winner.

Appropriately enough, after scoring Engelbrecht took off his jersey to reveal a shirt that said (in German) “Anything Is Possible.” Then he broke into tears as he was mobbed by his teammates.